Before anyone gets too far into a new venture it makes sense to test the idea and examine it for flaws. But which model should you use? And how can you be sure that you've identified all possible failings? If an idea is obviously flawed, why bother writing a full business plan?

To these and other questions, Mullins suggests this book as an answer. This is the third edition of The New Business Road Test and the seven-domains model at its core is unchanged. This involves testing an idea for market and industry attractiveness on both a micro and macro level, as well as looking at three aspects of the team behind the concept.

Some entrepreneurs might wonder why such a codified framework is needed to replace instinct and they won't find this book has a great deal to offer. But for most of those considering a new venture, thinking such as this offers a smart way to quickly assess what might and might not work. The distinction between markets and industries (the former is a collection of buyers, the latter of sellers) is typical of the quality of approach here.